One Third of People Aged 40-59 Have Evidence of Degenerative Disc Disease

By: Dr. Donna A. Pontoriero, Chiropractor

Researchers have reported that one-third of people 40-59 years have image-based evidence of moderate to severe degenerative disc disease and more than half had moderate to severe spinal osteoarthritis. Beyond that, the prevalence of disc height narrowing and joint osteoarthritis increased 2- to 4-fold in those aged 60-69 and 70-89 respectively. Furthermore, scientists observed that progression of these conditions occurred 40-70% more frequently in women than in men.

To uncover these results, scientists used CT scans taken six years apart to evaluate the severity of disc disease and spinal osteoarthritis in 1,200 cohort members of the Framingham Study -- a collection of data from Framingham, MA residents and their offspring dating back to the 1940s. The results of this study were published recently in The Spine Journal.

Chiropractic care is a treatment option you may want to try for degenerative disc disease (DDD). The first step is to carefully determine if you have a true disc-related problem. If you have DDD and back pain as a main symptom, the chiropractor looks at three main causes:

Degeneration in the spinal joints may be disturbing the mechanics of the spine.

Thinning and degenerative discs might be bulging and putting pressure on spinal nerves.

Spinal stenosis can cause back pain and leg pain.

Only a properly trained chiropractor can give you advice on how to address the pain caused by degenerating discs from a conservative, non-invasive point of view, and inform you of natural options to treat your condition.

Please contact our office if you would like further evaluation on your condition.